New cheating mantra: Homework on the Net

June 13, 2006 17:23 IST

Researchers at the University of Central England in Birmingham have uncovered a new effective way of cheating prevalent amongst the children these days, where students put their homework out to tender on the Internet, and suppliers bid to complete it for a few dollars a time.

The phenomenon, is being called as 'dubbed Contract Cheating', and is described as the natural successor to plagiarism.

Offenders use legitimate out-sourcing websites, normally used by businesses offering freelance project work to skilled professionals, and submit work which has been written to order for them.

"What we've identified is a new type of cheating where students put their coursework out to tender and suppliers bid to complete the work," the Daily Mail quoted lecturer Dr Thomas Lancaster, as saying.

"This type of cheating is cost effective for students, because many of the suppliers are internationally based and can complete the set assignments for a few dollars a time," he added.

Researchers have expressed grave concern over such kind of cheating behaviour in children, and have called for controlling the situation soon, before it became habitual.

"As an academic community, we need to take stock of this situation," Dr Lancaster said.

"There is a serious concern that, unlike plagiarism, academic institutions are not yet fully aware of the potential prevalence of contract cheating and the measures that can be taken to avoid it," he added.

Researchers are trying to use more automated detection techniques to monitor these sites and assessments and academic policies are to be reconsidered to remove the potential for contract cheating to be committed.